Kumusta po kayo!
So I do not really know when my letter will end up making it to our house but President Howard had me write a handwritten letter... So you will probably see this before you get that letter. I am in the Philippines right now, if you could not guess :) When I got here me and my district kind of started off in confusion trying to find the mission president, the directions say to go to the left and look for a big 'm' but you actually go right, so if anyone you know ends up going to Manila make sure and tell them to actually go straight across the street into the little sheltered area and then turn right and go down the hill. It was a bit of an adventure.
I made it to the mission home, President and Sister Howard are super awesome, they are both two of the most intelligent people I have ever met. President Howard worked as a CEO in a few different hospitals, he served in the Philippines/Hong Kong/ South East Asia mission when he was younger English speaking. Now the Philippines has 16 missions it is pretty crazy. He says that the Manila mission might split this year into two different missions. Because the people here are so accepting of the gospel, it is crazy, there were over 200 baptisms in the Manila mission last month, a lot of missions do not get that many in a full year.
The area that I am in now is called Pasay, it is in the Northwest of Manila and pretty close to the temple, but not super close. Me and my Kasama have 6 people who have committed to baptism for Saturday and they have all been interviewed, we have 2 others who have committed to February 5th. I am so excited, one lady who I have visited the past 3 days named Sister Maria, is super awesome, she is probably in her late 60's and even though I cannot understand really much of anything she says she has a really sweet spirit and is one of my favorite people in the whole wide world.
Sorry this is kind of unorganized, but on my first day we were given some food and a little bit of time to shower and meet with the mission president then we went out and had two appointments with investigators. I feel bad but I cannot remember their names. But I do remember how we got there, and I am not sure exactly how to describe the traffic/travel here but I will try. Most streets are three lanes wide each direction and the Filipinos turn them into about 5 lanes. And they drive where ever is open, both sides of the street with and against traffic. People cross the streets when they want to and drivers always stop for them. The first ride I took was in a bus, and there goal is to fill up the bus and get to their destination as fast as they can. No matter what lane drivers are in they will stop in the middle of the street to pick someone up. When this happens (all the time, everywhere) the horns start blaring but no one ever yells or says anything vulgar, so thats much appreciated. And the rule for switching lanes in nose goes, if you can squeak the nose of your vehicle in you go and the other person has to stop and honk at you. I am not going to lie I am really going to miss the craziness here, it is fun. The different kinds of transportation are Trikes, Jeepneys, Buses, and Taxis. Personally I am partial to the buses, because they go the fastest, but the Jeepneys and Trikes are awesome, the taxis are kind of boring, and they cost a lot. The Jeepneys and Trikes cost 7 pesos per ride, thats like 20 cents ish, the taxi is like 100 pesos, but we only take those if we need to get somewhere fast that is not directly on a jeepney route. So we have taken the taxi just one time.
I thought I would be more in shock and feel more sorry for the people because of the poverty here. But to be completely honest something I discovered in myself at the MTC especially is that the thing that makes me happiest is when other people are happy. Some people have more influence than others, I will not mention any names though. But because I am serving the people here I have grown to really love them, even though it really have only been 5 days that I have been here. I really love them, I will admit I like the kids the best, they are so awesome. But the people here understand the meaning of family, and I believe that is the biggest thing that makes them happy. A lot of them live in houses smaller than my bedroom at home, with dirty floors no showers or clean water. And they have like 6 people living in that small space, but they are always happy any smiling. Everyone always offers food when we enter their homes, even though they do not have enough food for themselves and their families. I wish America could be like that. I believe in having hope for things, but that seems like a bit of a long shot to me, I know my family, and my good friends have those good qualities that the Filipino people have, the Crandalls and Galbraiths are the best people around. And Brendin is a stud.
I was told to not write anything negative about my mission or anything at all, so I will not, I am just being informative :) Because there are a couple small downsides to this awesome place. But I have learned to adapt, so they are not negative, just different. There is a river type thing, I think it is the sewage for the whole area of pasay, it is probably the least clean thing I have ever and will ever see. It smells terrible, and is full of trash. When you walk by you get an instant headache if you breath. Sometimes we have to walk along it instead of across it, so I cannot hold my breath for that long. We visited a family who lives under the bridge right on the water, that was a memorable experience. I have met one person who I think did not like me to much, either that or he shows his love by spitting on people, but either way it was probably not the most appreciated thing that has ever happened, but I kind of laughed when it happened, cause I did not expect it at all.
I guess it is almost midnight your time right now, so you might not get this to tomorrow, but if people want to email me I can respond to them through family email. :) Because I believe I will be getting mail once every 6 weeks when I meet with the mission president, and that changes depending on my area, I could receive mail 2 weeks in a row, or it could be as far as 3 months apart, and I can respond with a 1 page written response so when I get mail I will respond :) but I will probably write really tiny.
Well I am just about out of time, so I will email again next week, sorry if I did not respond to everything you send I am trying, if I do not send an email again and I might remember eventually :)
Mahal ko kayo :)
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